I would love to encourage and help any one that needs it in the areas of health and fitness! The key to my journey was accountability and daily focus....let me help you overcome obstacles along your journey!
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/fitness/weight-loss-challenge

Thursday, October 27, 2011

There are many studies that are coming out to suggest getting a run, bike ride or a simple walk is better for you if done outside instead of on a treadmill or in a gym.

First off the change in your surroundings will enable you to burn a few extra calories and work out a couple extra muscles due to the wind and terrain changes as well as sudden situations that arise like dodging other runners or crossing a street.

When you do things outside people naturally get a boost in self esteem as they feel better in the "great outdoors" instead of in a sterile gym or basement.

It also helps your brain.........if you start walking in just 90 days blood flow to your brain will increase 15%....this will helping your mental dexterity. It will also lower your BP and your heart rate.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

People were asked why they don't fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables?

Too Expensive 30%

Don't pair well with the rest of the meal 27%

Half a plateful is too much 21%

They aren't always served 21%

Seems like 69% of the reasons are very controllable. 30% being too expensive may be relative.....the medical procedure you could incur down the road because of an improper diet could be viewed as pretty expensive as well.

I love to eat at buffets....I get three plates of steamed veggies and about as many plates of fruit.

I find the expensive reference interesting since when at a buffet I see mounds and mounds of things on people's plates that are not fruits and veggies. I think there is a cultural view of fruits and veggies as punitive in nature.

People are forced to eat their veggies and in many cases fruit is offered in place of a delectable chocolate dessert or something of that nature so it is viewed as a fall back not a treat.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

This is the million dollar question and the answer seems to be very different depending on whattype person you are.

I can gain weight in minutes not days! :):)

I can lose weight pretty quickly as well if I need to.

Maintenance to me is where the tremendous challenge lies.

What I have found is you need to give yourself a large window 10 - 15 lbs so that you can go up and down depending on different body composition situations. Time of month? Maybe you had a HUGE meal at a Holiday and it takes your body some time to process.....there are going to be large swings one way or another so I think in maintenance mode you have to stay on top of your weight and give yourself a realistic window to go up and down.

Much easier to reign yourself in if you are 8 lbs over your goal than if you slide 20 lbs away.

It is interesting to think about weight loss or weight gain as potentially easier than maintenance but it is the same in many things in life....when driving your car if someone says speed up or slow down that is simple.....if they tell you to stay right at a certain number it is bit more challenging.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

When yuo exercise you look to speed things up. Take your intensity to a new high any work out you can.

On the other side of this there is one of my favorite activities.....EATING!

This is a quick thought I wanted to throw your way. Think about slowing down as much as possible when it comes to eating. This will help your body let your mind know when you are full or comfortable. It usually takes 20 minutes for your mind to understand that you have been feeding. the other thing this does is allow you to enjoy and savor your food....if you like to eat why rush? Take your time enjoy it.

There are three basic levels of eaters. Slow, moderate and fast. A slow eater eats 1.5 oz of food a minute, moderate 2.5 oz and fast 3.1 oz.

Man of us have heard to slow down when we eat but there is a new way to think about this which should make plenty of sense to you.

The more food you eat per minute the more calories you are taking in.

As you slow down your eating you are slowing down your calorie intake.

Who would have thought an easy way to cut calories is just to slow down.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

It is funny that I wrote the note I did yesterday in relation to serving size.

Today in the USA Today the discussed the way teens have no idea what calorie count a meal has.

It is scary to think the larger the meal the farther off the kids were....if a meal was 1500 calories kids thought it was 700 if a meal was 1000 kids thought it was 800 if a meal was 750 the kids thought it was 500.

We are living in an age where we have been conditioned to think if we order a meal it is the same no matter what the size of the sandwich the side or the dessert.

We must understand going forward that the eyes need to tell us when something is larger than the average serving.